Friday, December 12, 2014

Burlington Public Schools is 1:1 with iPads in grades 1-12. We also have iPads available in each kindergarten and preschool classroom. Our vision for a 1:1 learning environment has always been to create the most engaging and collaborative student centered classrooms possible. Although our focus has never been on apps, we have always encouraged the use of core BPS Foundational Apps that can help keep students build skills and meet the standards of our curriculum. One of the most successful aspects of our 1:1 learning program has been the focus on these BPS Foundational Apps which can be used across grade levels and content areas.

This list of apps has changed slightly since our first 1:1 high school classrooms began using iPads. Students and teachers have had the opportunity to help adjust the BPS Foundational Apps. One of the most notable changes was a shift from Evernote to Notability as the core note taking and organizational app for students. Many Burlington middle and high school students preferred Notability and began using it as their primary note taking app. Our team has now amended the BPS Foundational Apps to include Notability instead of Evernote.

Burlington is also a Google Apps for Education district. Students and teachers use GAFE as their primary communication and collaboration tool. Google Classroom has been introduced and is becoming a popular option for digital workflow. All BPS students will be using Google Blogger as a curation tool for their PreK-12 BPS Digital Portfolios.